1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for joining and transecting tissue. In particular, the disclosure relates to an apparatus having a drive mechanism for advancing a blade through tissue.
2. Background of Related Art
Instruments such as electrosurgical forceps are commonly used in open and endoscopic surgical procedures to coagulate, cauterize and seal tissue. Such forceps typically include a pair of jaws that can be controlled by a surgeon to grasp targeted tissue, such as, e.g., a blood vessel. The jaws may be approximated to apply a mechanical clamping force to the tissue, and are associated with at least one electrode to permit the delivery of electrosurgical energy to the tissue. The combination of the mechanical clamping force and the electrosurgical energy has been demonstrated to join adjacent layers of tissue captured between the jaws. When the adjacent layers of tissue include the walls of a blood vessel, sealing the tissue may result in hemostasis, which may facilitate the transection of the sealed tissue. To transect the tissue, an operator may squeeze a trigger or manipulate a similar actuator to advance a sharpened blade distally through a channel defined in the jaws. Since it is generally not necessary to release the tissue captured between the jaws before the blade is actuated, an accurate cut may be formed that extends only through tissue that has been properly sealed. A detailed discussion of the use of an electrosurgical forceps may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,697 to Dycus et al.
Certain surgical procedures may be performed more quickly and accurately with an electrosurgical forceps having relatively longer jaws than one having shorter jaws. To this end, electrosurgical forceps have become available with jaws 60 mm in length or more. Longer jaws, however, may tend to present difficulties in transecting the sealed tissue. Since longer jaws are associated with greater distances a blade must traverse to fully transect tissue captured between the jaws, a longer actuation stroke may be required by an operator. A longer stroke may prove to be awkward or cumbersome for an operator.